Roger Federer has a reputation as one of the nicest pro athletes among his fellow tennis players and fans. When Stan Wawrinka got emotional in his post-match comments to the crowd after losing the BNP Paribas Open final, Federer sat courtside laughing. “I would like to congratulate Roger,” Wawrinka said, glancing at his countryman and friend. “He’s laughing. He’s an ass****, but it’s OK.” Wawrinka wiped his eyes and apologised to the crowd, explaining he was tired after the desert tournament ended Sunday. Federer said he was only trying to cheer up Wawrinka.

“I was trying, when he looked at me, not to give him the sad face,” he said. “I was looking at him going, ‘You’ll be fine’, and gave him a laugh, say, maybe gets his mind off it. I guess I achieved that.” Asked later if it was the first time in his life that he had been called the expletive, Federer said he’d heard it “many, many times before” in a joking way. “That’s why I take it as a compliment,” he said, smiling. “There’s not always cameras around, so I get called that sometimes. Quite often, actually. On the court is the first time, but it felt good.”

Old is gold Meanwhile, a rejuvenated Federer beat Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in the final to earn a record- tying fifth Indian Wells title and the distinction of being the tournament’s oldest winner. The 35-year-old Swiss, who made a stunning return from a six-month injury layoff to win the Australian Open in January, capped an impressive run in the California desert in which he did not lose a set. “I have totally exceeded my expectations. My goal was to be top eight by Wimbledon. This is just a dream start,” Federer, who will climb four spots to world number six on Monday, told Sky Sports courtside.

“I understand the talk about (me getting back to) world number one with Andy (Murray) and Novak (Djokovic) not playing well and I’ll try to back it up. But this is my 90th (tour-level) title so I’ll try to enjoy this first.” Rematch for close friends The rematch of the Australian Open semi-final saw the close friends hold serve until the 10th game of the opening set when Federer, ahead 5-4, outlasted Wawrinka in a thrilling 21- shot rally for the service break. Wawrinka, making his first appearance in an Indian Wells final, came out firing in the second set as he became the first player to break Federer this fortnight and then saved a pair of break points in the next game to move ahead 2-0. But Federer never wavered as he coolly won the next three games and then broke Wawrinka in the 12th game to close out the match in 80 minutes.

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